A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Truth Will Set You Free

Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginsberg

I would like to thank Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer (and
many others) for pointing out an important article to me in last week’s 5 Towns
Jewish Times. Barry Jacobson the author
of that article is apparently a good friend of his. That he recommended this article
means that he probably agrees with a good portion of it.

The title of that article is The Mesorah of Chesed . Mr.
Jacobson describes himself as a proud Charedi who represents a growing part
of that community that is getting sick and tired (and angry – I might add) of the rhetoric of the Charedi leadership and the extremist self centered attitude they
express with respect to issues of the day that impact on them.

The article was generated by a community meeting sponsored
by Mishpacha Magazine held in the 5 Towns dealing with the current situation in
Israel. He said he was ultimately very disappointed by it. I don’t blame him. Direct
questions from the audience were not permitted.

All questions had to be submitted in advance and screened. The
claim was made that since the event was held on Motzi Shabbos - the lateness
of the hour prevented a lengthy question and answer period. That of course made
it very convenient to ignore the tough questions. In effect it seems like this
presentation was nothing more than a
propaganda moment to further bash dissenting views – wherever they come from.

The rhetoric at that
presentation was what we have all come to expect from the right. We’ve heard
versions of it before. Many times. The presenters sounded the alarm once again
how the very essence of Judaism is at stake and that the forces of evil (read: Lapid, Lipman, and Zionism of any stripe) have
declared war on Charedim. Using quotes from Chazal to ‘prove’ their point - they
argued that anyone who supports the government on these issues is a heretic.

They
used the same litany of canards against the government heard repeatedly from
the right which amount mostly to vilifying Zionism in all its forms from its inception to
this day. They characterized it as though it
were the worst thing that ever happened to the Jewish people. It apparently was
one huge harangue… and a plea for the American Orthodox world to support their
Charedi brothers in Israel in their holy fight against the evil decree!

Nothing new here. But Mr. Jacobson’s heartfelt cry (which is
apparently shared by many Charedim in increasing numbers) was something new. It
is the first time that a proud Charedi has said what needed to be said in such
an emotional way. He listed many of the problems I have dealt with here expressing how upset it made him and he then virtually condemned the way the Charedi world
has dealt with them. Issues like their unrelenting harsh condemnation of the founders of the State of Israel - bashing them and their political heirs that are in government today.

You could see the pain in his words. Mr. Jacobson is a
Charedi by choice. He saw the beauty of the Charedi way of life and jumped right in.. He sent his children to
Charedi schools for that reason. But what he now sees is an attitude of unbridled
hatred of all and vilification of anyone who dares to see things differently
than themselves. A hatred that refuses to see or recognize any value in the State
of Israel nor grant any real recognition for all it does for them. A hatred that
begins at the top eshelons of Charedi rabbinic leadership and spreads its way across much of Charedi society. It begins with Theodor Herzl himself. Instead of recognizing the benevolent hand of
God via His messenger they see only a pure Rasha with a motive to destroy the
Jewish people.

Why did God choose an irreligious Jew to be His messenger? I
don’t know. Maybe it’s because the religious community wasn’t doing anything themselves
about returning to Zion. Herzl accomplished what no one else could in over 2000
years. And yet not a peep about all that
he accomplished. Not a word of praise for him and all of the benevolence
God granted the Jewish people via the creation of the State of Israel that Herzl envisioned.
No Barcha for the Medina. Not even a MiSheberach for the soliders in the IDF
many of whom risk their lives daily. Nothing. Only hatred and criticsm. Is it any wonder
that Datim and seculars are so angry now? The only real question is why did it
take them so long to react?

I haven’t even scratched the surface
of this man’s plaintive cry. A cry from the depths of his heart. He ended by
saying the what Charedi leadership ought to be doing instead is following a
Mesorah of Chesed – in the tradition of people like R’ Aryeh Levine and Rav
Gustman. That is sorely missing form the Charedi narrative.

Unfortunately the only reaction I saw to this was from Rabbi
Aryeh Z. Ginzberg. The title of his response should tell you all you need to
know. “Misguided Mesorah”. It was more of the same. “He feels Mr. Jacobson’s pain” and calls him a
friend. Then he goes about trashing him for daring to speak from the heart about what he sees from Gedolei Yisroel. He explains away all their negative rhetoric by
listing all the same old canards about how evil they really are bringing ‘proof
upon proof’ from anecdotal sources. Thus concluding that they deserve no better than what they are getting from the
Charedi side.

I am frankly sick of the big lie filled with half truths
being repeated over and over again. Rabbi Ginsberg has no credibility with me. Hopefully
the truth will continue to spread in the Charedi world and the Rabbi Ginsbergs
of the world will finally lose all their credibility - even among their own people. If there are more
Charedim like Barry Jacobson, that will surely happen

I don’t know how all of this will end. I suspect that at the
end of the day there will be some sort of compromise that all will be forced to
live with. If one wants to see a decent projection of the future - and an
overview of who believes what… and why, Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein has done a
pretty good job of sizing things up over at Cross Currents.

The problem is that even if things settle down, I do not see
the enmity changing. It will continue to fester beneath the surface only to
rear its ugly head the next time a crisis comes up in the Charedi world. Unless
more ‘Barry Jacobsons’ speak up… and realize how badly the Charedi Leadership is
failing its own people.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.